For patient Robert Valderzak, Tuesday's earthquake was a blessing in disguise. On Father’s Day, the 75-year-old lost his hearing when he fell. He has been in the hospital since then.
"He has a conductive loss, meaning that could be due to fluid or problems with the bones of the ear. And he has a nerve loss as well, so it's a combined loss," said Dr. Ross Fletcher, Chief of Staff at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Northwest D.C.
Valderzak used a special speaker phone with a light on it that flashed when it was ringing and an audio device system to communicate. But on Tuesday, something strange happened while his four children were visiting and that massive earthquake rocked the region.
When it was over, Valderzak, who sat in silence for months, sat up in his bed and told his kids, "I said, you know, my hearing is back. I can hear everything, people in the hallway.”
As he was shaking around in his bed, something happened in his head, and he could hear and talk again.
"Some people seem to be a little frightened by it, but he is delighted that this earthquake came along because soon after the event, he could hear everything in the room very clearly," Dr. Ross said. "I think there is still some hearing loss if I test him informally. We do have the ability to look into audiograms and do it more formally."
But to Valderzak, he doesn't care about any test. He already knows what happened.
"To me, it was a miracle, a blessing from God up above. Couldn’t ask for a better day,” said Valderzak.
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